ABSTRACT
The liver is of key importance in the proper functioning of most of the endocrine system. It is a major organ for metabolic degradation of many hormones. In chronic liver disease, there is a change in the concentrations of the main pancreatic hormones. Is to study the pancreatic islet cell secretory function of insulin, C-peptide, somatostatin and glucagon hormones in non ascitic non diabetic cirrhotic HCV patients by measuring these hormones basally and after intravenous glucose load with different concentrations at several intervals in order to evaluate the pattern of endocrine pancreatic hormonal response at increasing glucose concentration. The case-control study included 25 non ascitic non diabetic patients with cirrhosis due to HCV infection; their ages ranged from 28 to 60 years. They were selected from outpatient clinic of the National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute [NHTMRI] in the period from June 2004 to January 2005. Fifteen age and sex matched apparently healthy control subjects from the same area were also included in the study. Assessment of pancreatic islet cell function was done by assaying insulin, C-peptide, somatostatin and glucagon hormones. All hormones were determined by radioimmunoassay [RIA] for both patients and controls. Basal serum insulin, basal plasma somatostatin and basal plasma glucagon levels were significantly higher than that of the control group [p<0.05], while basal serum C-peptide was significantly lower than that of the control group [p<0.05]. After intravenous glucose load with the different concentrations 5%, 10% and 25%, serum insulin level showed a significant increase than that of the controls [p<0.05]. while other hormones showed no significant difference as compared to the control group [p>0.05]. The study suggests pancreatic islet cell functional defects with liver cirrhosis due to HCV infection